Cheyenne Jackson previously tried to hide his “gay voice” but now embraces it
“If you’re in the gay community, you’re on the spectrum of gay voice," says Cheyenne Jackson.
Mark
Cheyenne Jackson is currently appearing in the brilliant and award-winning Oh, Mary on Broadway. Jane Krakowski plays Mary Todd Lincoln, and Jackson plays her teacher.
Over the weekend, Jackson began posting videos of himself talking to his phone camera while he applies his makeup. It’s a cute glimpse into backstage life and into Jackson’s thoughts.
We’re also not complaining that Jackson is shirtless in each video.
In one video, he talked about masculinity and “gay voice”. This is a term used to describe perceived patterns of male gay speech.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Jackson says he watched the video he posted the previous day and thought, “Wow, I sound really gay.”
“Then I thought: I am gay! What’s wrong with sounding gay?”
He says that, “if you’re in the gay community, you’re on the spectrum of gay voice. Everyone’s on the spectrum. I think, myself, I’m a moderate gay voice person. I gesticulate a lot. My voice is very sing-songey… but for years I was afraid to come across as gay.”
“I love feminine men”
Jackson recalls catching a video from years earlier in which he was promoting the show Altar Boys. This was back in 2004, before he publicly came out. Jackson says he was shocked at how butch he had made himself sound in the video. He didn’t recognize the voice he’d used back then.
“It’s taken me a long time to be comfortable with just being who I am,” he continues, and it got me thinking about gay voice.
“Personally, I love feminine men. All men,” he adds, “but my favorite is feminine men. Have you met my husband? Have you met Jason?”
We have not met Jason Landau but we’re now learning he’s on the fem side.
“He’s fabulous and as soon as he opens his mouth, everyone from here to Beirut can tell he’s gay,” says Jackson. “And that’s what I love about him. He’s in his own skin. He’s who he is and he doesn’t give a f*ck. That is so hot to me.”
Jackson goes on to recall how people, in years past, would tell him they were surprised to learn he was gay.
“And it used to make me feel really good,” he admits. He was thrilled to know he was “passing” as straight.
“But you know what? F*ck that. My internalized homophobia is done.”
Watch below.
Drag Race
In his other backstage videos, Jackson talked about the poster on his dressing room wall behind him (it’s Clint Walker, who played the titular role in the cowboy show Cheyenne — from where Jackson got his name), and his love for RuPaul’s Drag Race and the queens he’s friends with.
He says he’s good friends with both RuPaul and Willam and praises them both as “amazing”. He wishes the two drag performers would bury the hatchet after their infamous falling out.
Check out Jackson talking more about Oh, Mary below.
Related
Love in the time of ICE raids: Cheyenne Jackson & Luca Castellani bring urgency to this romantic short
Inspired by model-turned-actor Luca Castellani’s own experiences, the short film ‘América’ is strikingly timely .Let’s hear it for this “gay voice” appreciation post
“I know many queer men are sensitive about their voices, so I want to inject some positivity into the discourse.”
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